Illinois, 2002

Flash Flooding and Hail in Illinois, August 16, 2002

August 16, 2002 · NWS ILX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Very heavy rain fell in a short amount of time causing several roads to become flooded. ) were flooded for a time.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS ILX wrote it up.

Very heavy rain fell in a short amount of time causing several roads to become flooded. Illinois Route 121 south of Chestervale (Logan Co.) and county road 800E northwest of Wapella (DeWitt Co.) were flooded for a time.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Lincoln, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 15, 7:40 PM CST, 9 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 15, 7:40 PM CST, 9 hours 35 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
840 PM CDT THU AUG 15 2002

WILL BE UPDATING FCST SHORTLY TO REFLECT PCPN TRENDS.

01Z SFC ANALYSIS INDICATING APPROACHING COLD FRONT NOW FROM CENT
IOWA INTO EXTREME NW MO INTO NE KS. GOOD INSTABILITY AHEAD OF
BOUNDARY WITH DEW POINTS ABOVE 70 AND 00Z ILX SOUNDING INDICATING
4000 CAPES. TSRA SO FAR HAVING GREAT DIFFICULTY OVERCOMING MID LEVEL
CAP AHEAD OF FRONT. STRONGEST LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE BACK ACROSS CENT
KS WHERE BEST TSRA COVERAGE LOCATED...WITH WEAKER CONVERGENCE
STRETCHING NE TO MISS RVR. SCT TSRA HAVE DEVELOPED ACROSS NRN MO/ERN
IA IN PAST FEW HOURS.

NW SECTIONS OF CWA LOOK TO HAVE BEST CHC FOR SHRAS AS WEAKENING
FRONT DROPS INTO EXTREME NW IL BY DAYBREAK. RUC INDICATING A SOLID
BAND OF QPF DEVELOPING FROM NEAR UIN TO ORD BY 09Z. WILL PUT IN SCTD
TSRA WORDING FOR NW SECTIONS BUT MAINTAIN POPS IN CENT WITH
UNCERTAINTY OF SLOWING AND WEAKENING BOUNDARY. SHRAS SHOULD REMAIN
WEST OF ERN/SE SECTIONS AND WILL KEEP DRY FCST HERE.

.ILX...NONE.

FRIEDERS

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 16, 5:00 AM CST, 15 minutes before
ILZ027>031-036>038-040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-161200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR CENTRAL ILLINOIS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
600 AM CDT FRI AUG 16 2002

THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MOVING ACROSS PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS
THIS MORNING...PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAINFALL. THE HEAVIEST RAIN IS
EXPECTED TO OCCUR OVER EAST-CENTRAL SECTIONS OF THE AREA. ADDITIONAL
THUNDERSTORMS MAY ALSO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY OVER
CENTRAL AND SOUTHEASTERN ILLINOIS. NO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE
EXPECTED.

The radar

The Lincoln radar (KILX), 4 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 13:36 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flash flood, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Logan

When
August 16, 5:15 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Logan County, Lincoln
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.125, -89.367 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Menard

When
August 16, 7:34 AM CST
Where
Menard County, Greenview
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
40.083, -89.750

Flash Flood, De Witt

When
August 16, 8:30 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
De Witt County, 2 mi NW of Wapella
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.175, -88.904 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Illinois in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, August 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5314834, 5314836, 5314835.